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Astrid had had a long day. She had finalized her divorce with Michael the week before, and decided that she needed a break from Singapore. So she and Cassian packed up all their stuff and moved into an apartment in New York City. She spent the whole day helping set up their house to make sure it was perfect when Cassian arrived with her parents tomorrow. Astrid decided to forgo cooking and went out to eat. She found a nice restaurant not too far from her apartment, and decided to head over. Luckily when she got there, there wasn’t much of a wait and she was seated almost immediately.
She had just sat down when a young woman rushed over. “Hi! I’m Rachel, Eliza’s friend.” Astrid was very confused, but her manners hadn’t failed her yet. “Hello Rachel. I am Astrid. It is very nice to meet you, but I bel-”
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Rachel interrupted. Astrid tried to relay again to the woman that she had the wrong person, but was interrupted again. “Have you ordered yet.” Deciding that it was a futile task, Astrid gave up trying to correct the young woman and just shook her head. As Rachel perused the menu, Astrid observed her new dinner partner. The woman was clearly nervous, her hands were shaking, and her eyes kept flitting around the menu and restaurant. The woman was quite beautiful Astrid mused, and this might be an interesting way to make her first friend in the city.
They sat there in mostly silence until the waiter arrived to ask for their order. After that Astrid decided to learn more about her potential friend. She started asking her questions about her work, family, interests, etc. Astrid learned that Rachel was a professor of Game Theory at NYU, and that she was raised by a single mother who immigrated for China. Over the course of their dinner Astrid learned a lot, but she wasn’t the only one who asked questions. Rachel was also curious about Astrid. She asked a lot of questions, a lot that Astrid wasn’t sure how to answer without giving away that she wasn’t her blind date. All in all though Astrid was having a good time. She liked Rachel, and enjoyed her company. Though she did feel a bit bad about not telling Rachel the truth, that she wasn’t her blind date.
When desert arrived, so did a text from Eliza. As the waiter set down their sundae, Rachel heard a buzz from her phone. She apologized to Astrid for the interruption and took out her phone. Astrid waved a go ahead and took a bit out of the sundae watching Rachel. As she read the text her body slowly stiffened and her mouth dropped open. After she finished she raised her head and stared at Astrid. “You’re...not my blind date?’
Astrid shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. To be fair though, I did try to tell you. You just kept interrupting me.” She shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating their sundae as Rachel kept staring at her.
“So who are you then?”
“My name is Astrid Leong. I just moved to the city from Singapore. I spent the whole day setting up my apartment, and came for dinner here once I was done.”
“Oh my God! I am so sorry for interrupting your dinner. You must be so annoyed with me. I should have asked first. I am so so-”
“There is no need to apologize. This has been a rough few months, and this was a good distraction from that. I don’t have any friends in the city, so I was wondering if you would want to be my friend.”
Rachel nodded her head vigorously, “Of course! I would love to be your friend.”
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And thus began Rachel and Astrid’s friendship. Over the years they became closer and closer. And eventually they return to the restaurant where they first met, this time as a proper date.